The COVID-19 Pandemic

The word “unprecedented” seemed to come out of nowhere and quickly become overused. Unprecedented is defined as “never done or known before”.¹ There is no arguing that word perfectly fits the time in which we are now living. Never before in history have countries across the world been more or less shut down on this scale from a worldwide pandemic. Satellite pictures show past and present shots of once bustling places eerily empty and still. Life as we all knew it seemed to virtually change overnight.

My family had reservations at a Tennessee state park for a long weekend with friends. All of us had been looking forward to this vacation as it had been about half a year since our first caravan camping trip together. Traveling with another family and staying at the same campground had been so much fun that we were all excited to do it again while checking out a different park. We had neighboring sites, and we had planned our daily menus to share meals as well as the cooking. As the time drew closer, we all realized that even though it would be a huge disappointment, this trip would have to be postponed indefinitely.

News was spreading that more and more states were closing their parks to day use and/or overnight campers. Although I had received an email stating that Tennessee state parks were remaining open, it seemed imminent that they would eventually follow suit and close their parks as well. We didn’t want that to happen while we were actually at one of them. The thought of packing up, heading out, unpacking, setting up, and then being turned out – during a rainy weekend, was not welcoming. And so it was agreed, we made the cancellation.

Officials were recommending people not travel. Larger areas in the states were already beginning to “stay at home” and “shelter in place”. There was talk of possible travel restrictions. People began stocking up and store shelves began to empty. No one was sure how far or long restrictions would be put in place. I seldom pay attention to “the news” anymore as it seems to have strayed far off course from truthful, factual journalism into strongly opinionated and even imagined sensationalism. (My apologies to any journalists out there if you find offence, this is merely my general, overall opinion; and I hope you are a genuine fact finder and reporter!) In times like these, you feel the need to stay informed. So we did our best to remain calm, tune in for updates, and do what our government leaders asked.

Toilet paper & paper towel aisle at Walmart

During the onset, we were at a family owned campground in a covered site with a screened in porch. If we had to stay in one place for the duration, it seemed a good place to be. This is where we would weather the storm of a worldwide pandemic, possible food, soap & toilet paper shortages, and the unknown.

Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park closed down due to COVID-19

In mid March, over a third of all states had already closed their state parks. Tennessee state parks did wind up closing, not only to campers, but also to day visitors. I later spoke to a lady whose family was at Rock Island State Park (where we had planned to visit) and were asked to leave when the closure happened. Schools, of course, had shut down as well as many businesses. Food establishments shut their doors to dine-in customers, but many began offering curbside pick up and even delivery. Now places and employees had begun to be divided into essential and non-essential with non-essentials closing, being laid off or furloughed. With so many children and adults at home, unemployment soared.

Barton Springs Campground closed their day use area, but they waived their stay limits to encourage campers to stay in place

April brought extended closures and increased restrictions as well as mixed messages about the corona virus. I tried to glean the information for truth, prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. We continued our homeschooling lessons as if nothing had changed. I was grateful that we already had that routine in place and that my kids’ education would not be interrupted or thrown off course by what had ultimately closed public schools for the remainder of the school year. I found that to be a two-fold blessing in that it also kept our minds occupied with good things instead of idle time.

My youngest child happened to be reading the book Pollyanna for her English Language Arts course as all this has been transpiring. If you have never read the book or watched the movie, it centers around a young girl named Pollyanna who plays “the glad game” and shares this game with almost everyone who happens into her life. The gist of this game is to always look for a reason to be glad in every circumstance. What a timely message it has been. I highly recommend reading this book as I found it even better than the Disney movie I had watched as a child, which was also uplifting.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

In times of trouble, it’s beneficial to count your blessings and keep a grateful heart. I am thankful that although my husband has had to leave our home for his “essential” work, our income has not been affected. I am extremely grateful that when we sold our home and bought our travel trailer, our remaining mortgage was paid off and we became debt free. I appreciate that as a homeschooling family, we were unaffected by mass public school closings and were able to maintain our normal routine. I am glad that when so many full time RVers were being displaced due to parks and campgrounds closing, we happened to find ourselves in a secure site. I am joyful that even though churches were asked to close their doors and parking lots, we have been able to congregate online for worship and the Word.

For months prior to all of this, I had been meditating on how busy lives are in this day and age. Often both parents work, children go to school and afterward are carpooled to a variety of lessons and extracurricular activities almost every day of the week. I have known families that eat fast food dinners in the minivan from one stop to the next. Homework is done the same way, if not late at night or early in the morning before school. Bedtimes are late, mornings are rushed, and weekends are a blur in what many see as a full and active life. Even when we are intentional, it can be hard to say “no” or avoid becoming overextended in our schedules as well as our finances. Most people long for a slower time like the “good ole days”, but as nostalgic as that seems, it can seem equally impossible. And yet without intent, look what COVID-19 has done. It has brought families home together. We are eating home-cooked meals. Our busyness has been replaced with leisure time. Time seems to have slowed down.

Do I want to get back on the road again? Yes. I really do. I would like a change of scenery, and I am looking forward to our next RV move. All good things come in time as they say. So until then, I will be patient and I will do my best to enjoy every moment with my family; because I believe it is a gift. For now, we are simply living… learning… and loving. Later on, we’ll see y’all down the road!

¹ lexico.com/en/definition/unprecedented 5/3/20

Natchez Trace RV Campground, Thousand Trails

Natchez Trace RV Campground is one of two Thousand Trails campgrounds located in Tennessee. It is located in middle Tennessee in a small town named Hohenwald. This is where we spent our first stay as Thousand Trails campground members for seven days spanning the end of December 2019 and ringing in the New Year of 2020.

Making the reservations went smoother than I expected. My husband and I had researched Thousand Trails online by reading articles and watching video blogs from full-time RVers. More than once, we had heard (or read) that making reservations could be difficult with some speculation that Thousand Trails had oversold memberships. Although it is too soon for us to form an educated personal opinion about this, we had no trouble booking our first stay. Perhaps this is because of the time of year, the location, or a combination of those things. Not only was it easy getting reservations, we were also able to choose our own site upon arrival from many empty ones, several of which had full hook-ups.

Our check in to the campground went very smoothly, especially since we still had not received our membership card in the mail. They had a welcome package waiting for us, and the lady at the desk was pleasant. We received a color map of the park, a page of rules, a car tag to display on our vehicle’s mirror, a code to get in the front gate, a sheet with the dates of our stay to display in our camper, and a form to complete and return at our convenience after we had chosen our site. I’m one of those nerds that will actually read everything they give you. What you need to know is that they change the codes to the gate every Monday. That was nowhere to be found in the reading, nor were we told at check in. Imagine our surprise upon returning one evening after a quick trip to town for supplies to find our code didn’t work! We were literally locked out of the campground. Luckily for us, a couple of vehicles pulled in shortly afterwards driven by campers who stay year round, the second of which was kind enough to grant us access (we did after all have a tag with our name and departure date). The first had an unknown amount of patience as they were willing to wait for us to call someone for help. Who knows how long that would have taken? Remember, you can’t count on cell service here… so be sure to check by the front gate on Mondays to get the new code!

As you drive in to the park, you will see a basketball court, a swimming pool, mini putt putt course, dog park, walking track, and tennis courts. A bit further in the distance you can see the beach across from which are several RV sites.

Pets are welcome here, and the dog park is a good size. It has a pet waste station with bags, two black plastic tubes for the agility trained, plenty of room for the dogs to run, and a bench for their owners to rest their heels. This is a saving grace for our playful boxer pup who loves to run free at full speed.

There is also a beach on the lake where you can swim. Signs are posted that no lifeguards are on duty. The pool near the front of the park was empty and the back one behind town hall was covered due to the season. I am sure our kids would have enjoyed swimming here had we visited during the warm season.

There is a shuffleboard court next to the laundry mat in Phase I. A small playground and pavilion are located behind these. We used this laundry mat which housed three washers and three dryers. You could pay with coins or debit/credit cards. The cost for each starts at $2.00 and goes up in quarter increments with the soil level. The bath house shared the building with the laundry mat. We visited the Women’s side & found it to be clean & functioning.

The bath house in Phase II was surprisingly clean. It was probably one of the cleanest camp bath houses I have ever been inside. Again, we visited in the off season, so I can not assume they would be as clean during the summer months when I hear the place is very busy. The town hall is located in the back of the campground at the entry of Phase II. It contains a recreation center with a game room, quiet lounge, free library, and restrooms. There is a non-denominational church located on the ground floor, which meets every Sunday at 9am and 5pm. Although this campground is known for poor cell reception, there is free wifi at the town hall. There is also a fitness room here, which I could see through the window, but I did not happen upon the entrance. There was a sign for a movie room/theater, but that door was locked. A building attached by walkway was used for the camp’s New Year’s Eve party. It is a large room with tables, chairs, fireplace, piano, kids corner, and kitchen. The playground at Phase II was about twice the size as the one in Phase I with more field space for parents, pets & kids to run or gather.

David Crockett State Park and Lewis Meriwether State Park & Monument are both within thirty minutes of this campground. If you need supplies, there is a Walmart in Hohenwald twenty minutes away, but I recommend extending your drive by ten minutes for the Lawrenceburg Walmart. (Driving directions for both are available at the gate.) The Hohenwald Walmart only has one door if that tells you anything. Just not much there. Lawrenceburg’s Walmart is the standard super size. Lawrenceburg also offers a Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, and several restaurants from which to choose. There is also a small general store & food counter beside the entrance to the park. However, they didn’t even have camper toilet paper when we visited.

By happenstance, there were a few other full-time families there that we had met at our last campground. This provided our daughters with plenty of friends with which to play and hang out. Thanks to friendly campers, free wifi, & a fenced in dog park, we all had a good time. We definitely want to check this place out again in the spring or summer.